OAKLAND TO TEACH `BLACK ENGLISH' : L.A. MAY LIST VARIANT AS SEPARATE LANGUAGE.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

In a move with national repercussions, Oakland schools have declared African-American English a separate language - and Los Angeles schools may not be far behind.

Los Angeles Board of Education member Barbara Boudreaux said Thursday that she will ask her colleagues next month to affirm African-American English as a unique language. She also wants African-American children taught English as if they were from non-English-speaking countries.

``We need to put it on the record so their needs are fully addressed. They've been excluded from bilingual programs in the past, why not include them?'' asked Boudreaux, the only African-American on the Board of Education.

The proposal, mirroring a measure adopted Wednesday by Oakland schools, would expand an existing Los Angeles Unified School District program that provides special language instruction for African-American children within their classroom.

Since 1990, the Los Angeles Unified School District has spent $3 million on a program that uses so-called African-American English to help African-American children master language skills.

The program is now in 31 schools, with 25,000 pupils in grades K-8, none of them in the San Fernando Valley, said Noma LeMoine, director of language development program for African-American students.

Boudreaux said she wants to take the program a step further, with a formal declaration that African-American English is its own language.

African-American students need the same native language instruction and support as children who speak native languages from other countries, she said.

She also said she would advocate more training for teachers, to sensitize them to the difficulties African-American students have because they speak a language other than English.

``Achievement level is still low, and their self-esteem is low,'' Boudreaux said. ``The students are frequently sneered at, they won't raise their hands to speak because they feel embarrassed - that has to change.''

California's top educator said Thursday that efforts to make African-American English its own language could be a ``bad idea.''

``We are not aware of any research which indicates that this kind of program will help address the language and achievement problems of African-American students,'' said Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public instruction.

``If it does not - or worse, if it becomes a way of lowering standards for those students - then it is a bad idea. it could be a disservice to students who need to meet those standards in order to succeed in the work force and in higher education,'' she said.

LAUSD Superintendent Sid Thompson said his district's program should be expanded.

``We need more staff development,'' Thompson said. ``Those students' needs are frankly not met.''

Thompson said he expects the district to follow Oakland's lead and consider applying for federal money to teach African-American English as part of its bilingual program.

``We'll be happy to join with (Oakland),'' Thompson said. ``If we could get funding we'd be happy.''

The California Department of Education had no record of any school system receiving federal grants to teach African-American English.

``The law isn't set up to provide bilingual funds for variants of the English language,'' said Norman Gold, manger of bilingual education compliance for the California Department of Education.

Gold said African-American English is only a variant, not a language. ``No reputable linguist classifies it as a separate language,'' he said.

Yet in its vote Wednesday, the Oakland School Board described African-American English as not merely a dialect of standard English but a separate language with roots in West Africa. Board members called it ``Ebonics,'' a conglomeration of the words ``ebony and phonics.''

Oakland officials said teachers should be trained to teach students to ``decode,'' or translate, Ebonics into the standard English they need to succeed in school and function in America's workplaces.

Backers said the board was the first in the nation to recognize Ebonics as a language.

``Whatever we are using now is not working. In my day, they would teach you how to talk like the white folks,'' said Oakland board member Toni Cook. ``Because someone says, `I be,' does not mean someone is intellectually deficient.''

The premise of the LAUSD program is the contention that the language pattern of many African-Americans has distinct grammar and syntax patterns. For example, it lacks various forms of the verb ``to be,'' according to material provided to Los Angeles teachers.

To prepare teachers, they are taught the history of African-American English, and learn how to handle their African-American students sensitively, LeMoine said.

For example, a student may use the phrase, ``that teacher, she mean.'' Instead of correcting the student immediately, the teacher would jot the statement down in a journal. Later, the statement would be used in grammar lessons where students would translate it into ``the teacher is mean,'' LeMoine said.

LeMoine said correcting the child at the time the phrase is spoken ``is not effective'' when teaching children to master mainstream English.

As part of their training, teachers in the LAUSD program are shown how to distinguish between African-American English and mainstream English.

For instance, the sentence ``She is often at home'' would be phrased ``She be at home'' in African-American language, according to a training document.

And, certain sounds are not used in African-American English - the word ``cold'' would instead be pronounced ``coal'' or ``this'' said as ``dis.''

LeMoine said African-American English has been the source of linguistic debate, but she considers it a language.